Starting a blog can be an excellent way to showcase your writing skills, whether you’re publishing books or writing for company blogs. Luckily, starting a blog isn’t terribly challenging, either.
If your blog gets enough traction, you may even be able to make a few bucks off of it.
I’ll lay out exactly how to start a writers’ blog below, complete with real examples.
Should an Author Have a Blog?
An author absolutely doesn’t not have to have a blog. There are plenty of writers out there without one. However, they can be exceptionally helpful in showcasing your writing skills to attract clients (if you’re a freelance writer) or attract potential readers (if you publish books).
In today’s digital age, success can depend greatly on your online presence. Blogging is a straightforward way to build this presence while doing something you hopefully love. A well-maintained blog can also share expertise, especially if you work in a non-fiction field.
That said, even fiction writers can benefit from blogs. Even writers like Neil Gaiman have a blog!
Do Freelance Writers Need a Blog?
I’d argue that freelance writers can benefit even more from a blog, as you need to advertise your services to different clients directly. You can share expertise on a blog and showcase your writing skills. Often, freelance writers use their blog as a writing portfolio, but it can also be much more than that.
What Should I Write in My Author Blog?
When it comes to your writer’s blog, you have the freedom to include anything you want. However, if you’re unsure about what your author’s blog should look like, then simply writing whatever pops into your head may not be the best approach.
Although many people suggest writing solely based on inspiration, I don’t agree with that model because it’s not practical and sustainable in the long run. Freelance writers wouldn’t exist if writing was that easy.
Keeping this in mind, here are some topics that you could write about on your blog to get started:
- Writing advice
- Literary reviews
- Behind-the-scenes
- Showcasing your expertise
- Personal blog/daily life
This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it should give you a good starting point.
Choose One Primary Goal for Your Blog
The most effective blogs have one primary focus. Without it, your writing may lack direction and seem disjointed.
What are your blogging goals? Do you aim to earn money, carve out a niche, or improve your writing skills? Your objectives will determine how you approach your blog right from the beginning.
Those who want to make money from their blog need to narrow down to a specific niche, focus on keyword research, and maintain a consistent posting schedule. Additionally, they will have to pay attention to website metrics, which may not be important to someone who is only practicing their writing skills.
On the other hand, if you are using your blog as a portfolio of your writing work, it is recommended that you choose a niche as well. However, the target audience for this blog will differ greatly from that for a blog that focuses solely on making money.
For example, the Creative Penn is a blog by writers for writers whose main goal is to sell the author’s information content and courses. It’s a money-making blog:
Seth Godin’s blog is completely different. It’s a smattering of advice, philosophical thought (usually involving writing), and wisdom. It’s a wonderful read (and I recommend his email subscription). However, it isn’t monetized in the least. Instead, Godin is simply showing his expertise:
Common Reasons For Failure of Author Blogs: Nonfiction Writers vs. Fiction Writers
Maria Popova, an author and blogger writes to over 5M monthly readers every month at BrianPickings.org. On the Tim Ferriss Show, her advice to anyone who wants to start a blog is to “write for yourself” and not an audience.
“Write for yourself. If you want to create something meaningful and fulfilling, something that lasts and speaks to people, the counterintuitive but really, really necessary thing is that you must not write for people.”
While Maria reckons you to “not write for an audience”, if you treat blogging as a business — which it eventually becomes if you want to sustain its practice — you need to teach a subject matter to an audience and solve their problems.
But remember writing solely for someone shouldn’t end up costing your enthusiasm, or else you’ll lose the long-term game. I recommend you to find the intersection between what your audience likes and what you like
Fiction writers generally use their words to weave creative worlds, which are a figment of their imagination. They are a source of entertainment and inspiration for readers. Unless you already have a name through your published books, finding an audience by writing fiction is challenging. You’re better off starting a paid community or an email newsletter for the same.
Nonfiction writers are better positioned to blog because of their existing understanding of their audiences. They might have even interacted with and heard the issues their readers run into — so you can address those. Besides, your blog can serve as an organic extension of the ideas in your books and garner the attention of newer audiences online.
Both kinds of writers could use some research on what people are searching for online — related to subjects they want to write on — and package their ideas in certain frameworks. It’s majorly done for getting traffic from search engines such as Google and could lead you to find success with blogging quickly.
What it Takes to Become a Successful Bloggers Vs. Author
Both blogging and authoring books require great writing and even better editing. However, there are tons of differences between them. Just because someone is awesome at writing a novel doesn’t mean they can spin out blog posts with the same amount of skill – and vice versa.
Blogging is significantly less formal and more geared towards online reading. Online readers tend to skim instead of reading from start to finish like most people do with a book. The average person will not open a book to the middle, find something interesting, and start reading, but that’s exactly how many people read blog posts.
Authoring a book does require sticking to the same project for months or even years, which is a skill in itself. Bloggers get a fresh topic every few days.
Typically, blogging is also less formal than authoring, but this isn’t always the case. The writing style is very different, though, unless you’re writing in an online, academic setting.
If you’re an author who’s looking to start a blog, take time to learn the new medium of online writing. Don’t assume you can jump onto a blog and start churning out amazing posts.
Now that we’re through the frequently asked questions on author blogs, let’s look at the first step to start one for yourself.
1. Identify Your Blogging Niche
Before you do anything else, you need to identify your blogging niche. This decision will probably relate to your underlying goal for your blog. If you’re a freelance writer, you’ll probably want to write in the same niche you plan to work in.
For instance, The Marginalian by Maria Popova is a mix of science, philosophy, and other musings. Maria has written several books and contributed to some major publications, like Wired and The Atlantic:
Cup of Jo is a successful blog about women’s lifestyle and home decor. It was founded as a weekend hobby after Joanna Goddard wrote and edited for Glamour and New York. It preceded to take off and now has a whole writing team.
These blogs may have pretty wide niches, but they all have a niche and stay in their lane (for the most part). You should aim for your blog to do the same, which means figuring out exactly where its lane is, first.
2. Choose a Host, Domain, and Blogging Platform
Now that you have a niche idea, you must do the boring, technical side. Your domain name is important, but don’t let it tie you up. It won’t be perfect, and you’ll take time to grow into it. I’ve started several websites in my day, and I never loved a blog name right out of the gate.
That said, you should choose a name that is memorable and easy to spell. You want people to be able to find you again.
You’ll need to register your name somewhere, like Namecheap (where this blog’s domain is registered). You’ll also need to select a web host. Elite Content Marketer uses GreenGeeks, but there are many other options, too. Be sure to read reviews first, as some web hosts have horrid customer service.
I highly recommend self-hosting your blog on your own website using a platform like WordPress. WordPress is exceptionally easy to use nowadays, providing you with greater control and customization. Wix and Squarespace are popular blogging platforms, too, but they are much less flexible.
WordPress is full of themes and plugins that allow you to do basically anything with your blog. According to HubSpot, about 45.8% of the internet utilizes WordPress, and there is a reason for that!
3. Set Up Your Blog
Once you’ve set up the backend of your website, it’s time to start on the blog itself. This step allows for more creativity, but that doesn’t mean you should go completely off the rails.
Start by choosing a clean, reader-friendly design. Find a blog theme that you like that also complements your style. You can go for something very simple, like Seth Godin’s blog:
Or you can go for something a bit more bold like Writing Revolt:
Ensure that your entire blog works across many devices. You don’t want your website to only work on a computer.
Next, create a few necessary blog pages, like your About page and Homepage. You may also want to consider creating a page describing your services if you’re a freelance writer (especially if the point of the blog is to find new clients). Book authors may want to create a page listing and describing their books.
You’ll also need a contact page. Choose something relatively user-friendly so potential clients or readers can get in touch. WordPress has several plugins that make this very straightforward.
4. Start Building Relationships
Setting up a killer blog and writing great posts is only part of running a blog. You’ll also need to start building relationships with others. These connections increase visibility and provide collaboration opportunities.
Guest posts are a great way to get your name out there and win some backlinks for your blog. Simply put, these are free posts that you offer to other blogs, preferably those with a significant following of their own. The idea is that your potential audience will see you on these other blogs and then decide to visit yours. (In return, the other blogs get a free post.)
You can also invite other bloggers to guest post to your blog. Preferably, fans will follow them over to your blog so that they can read their post.
You should also work to seek backlinks from reputable websites. Backlinks help enhance your blog’s SEO. However, the best way to get backlinks is to produce high-quality content. Networking can go a long way, too, especially if you share your posts on social media.
Look for partnership opportunities like webinars, e-books, and content series. Use social media like LinkedIn to share your ideas with others, hopefully bringing these opportunities to you.
5. Create a Content Calendar You Can Keep Up With
No blog was ever successful without consistent, well-planned blog content. Developing a content calendar that aligns with your goals and time availability is important. You want to blog regularly, but you don’t want to over-commit.
Don’t sacrifice quality for the sake of churning out tons of posts. This may work in the short-term, but you’ll plateau quickly. Each post should offer value, insight, or entertainment. High-quality content establishes your expertise and keeps your readers coming back.
You don’t have to publish posts on a super consistent schedule. However, you should aim for a general timeline, such as one or two weekly articles. Don’t publish five articles in one week and then go silent for a month. Readers will grow to expect new posts on a certain timeline, and one of your goals is to meet this expectation.
You also don’t need a fancy editorial calendar, especially if you’re the only one working on the blog.
Once you’ve done this, it’s time to start blogging!
How often you publish is completely up to you. Seth publishes a new blog post every day, but that doesn’t mean you have to:
On the other hand, Lee Goldberg only posts every couple of weeks – sometimes more if there is a news event he wants to respond to. Once again, it’s about quality and consistency, not trying to churn out an article every day.
6. Model Your Writing For an Online Audience
Writing for the internet is different than writing a novel or a non-fiction book. It’s important to keep your writing concise and easy to scan. One way to do this is by using shorter sentences and paragraphs. It’s also important to keep in mind that online readers usually prefer shorter content. Use subheadings, bullet points, and number lists wherever it makes sense to break up the text.
Your writing should not look like it was taken directly out of a book.
Incorporate multimedia, as well. Images, infographics, and videos are all important. Visual elements help break up to monotony of text, helping convey information easier. Longer blocks of text require more visual elements. On the other hand, if you’re only writing a few short paragraphs, you may not need many visual elements.
Use short, catchy blog headlines to entice your reader to click on your content. However, be sure that the titles aren’t misleading.
Meg Gardiner writes very short blog posts and typically only utilizes a single picture for each one. However, because each is so short, one picture is plenty:
You also have to worry about search engine optimization (SEO) when writing online. Otherwise, readers may have a hard time finding your content on search engines. You can use tools like Surfer SEO to optimize your posts for organic search by incorporating the suggested keywords into your post.
7. Promote Your Content Regularly
Writing content isn’t the end of the line. You also need to promote your content across the web to engage with a wider audience. There are many ways to do this.
For instance, you could build an email list and encourage readers to sign up. This list allows you to announce new posts, send updates, and provide exclusive content. You can use an online tool like Mailchimp or ConvertKit to make email marketing easier.
Seth Godin has an email list that sends out his daily blog post each morning:
Share your blog posts on social media platforms, as well. You may want to make several accounts across websites like LinkedIn and Twitter – or you can just use the platforms where your users tend to hang out. Some platforms may require different approaches, as well. For instance, Instagram and Pinterest often require more image-focused content.
Most writers with blogs have social media profiles of some sort. Jane Friedman focuses mostly on LinkedIn and Instagram:
Backlinks through guest posts can also be a huge way to advertise your blog. While SEO likes backlinks, it also opens your blog up to a wider audience.
8. Monetize Your Blog
Once you have a bit of a following, you may want to consider monetizing your blog to generate income from your hard work. While it may take a while to see substantial returns, a little passive income is better than nothing.
An easy way is to implement display ads on your blog. Google AdSense and Mediavine are popular options, but you typically must meet a minimum number of visitors to qualify.
You can also try affiliate marketing if you tend to talk about products and services. If there is a service or product you like, you may be able to earn a commission for each sale made through your website. However, unless you naturally recommend a lot of products, this doesn’t always make sense.
Consider creating and selling digital products, such as e-books, online courses, and writing templates, too. If you naturally write very informative posts, it may make sense to expand this by offering more extensive information products.
Many freelance writers also use their blogs to advertise their services. This allows you to make money indirectly to some extent, but it won’t be “passive” income. This method is especially helpful for writers who specialize in writing articles.
Writing Revolt uses several of these methods. She sells courses and other information products, as well as recommending and reviewing products:
Stay Patient – Blogging is a Marathon!
Starting a writer’s blog is exceptionally slow. It can take a long time to get any traction, and you’ll probably be working on the blog for years before you see a penny. However, blogs can be a great way to write about things you’re passionate about while also advertising your books or services.
It’s important to stay patient and keep trudging on. Many writers quit before they see the fruits of their labor.
Often, the first step is the hardest! So, start picking out your blog title and start writing.
